Mother of the bride - A reading for her daughter

(Saying Brides name), I like to think that you learned from me that some thinks are important. Commitment, love, loyalty, "being there" are at the center of everything. I tried my best to teach you, by example, that life is very complex, that there are no final solutions, there is only commitment to the search for quality and genuineness.

I taught you to value human relationships, to run away from bigotry and to expose it when you find it. I taught you to believe in the value of books, to respect education and learning, to admire goodness, integrity and wisdom. Let's not forget humor. Above all, perhaps, I taught you by example that a thoughtful and examined life requires difficult choices; that there are, for such a life, no instant fixes.

We live in a society which sells trivial answers for every complex human dilemma. In our household, from our example, you were able to draw on a different set of strengths, not available in the ambient society of your growing up. I see all of these strengths in your life now. You have become the kind of woman I dreamed of raising.